NFL Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears Would be Foolish to Bring Back Lance Briggs

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Lance Briggs Chicago Bears

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Lance Briggs has nothing left to offer, and he knows it.

The Chicago Bears linebacker has opened up to the multiple media members of late discussing how John Fox and Ryan Pace would be foolish not to want him back on the roster. He mentions how his veteran leadership would be critical to help mold a defense under a new regime.

Excuse me? This is the same Lance Briggs that blew off two days of practice before the season opener to launch his restaurant. This is the same Lance Briggs that admitted to the media that he doesn’t pay attention in team meetings. The same Briggs whose sour attitude helped turn an entire team against a coaching staff and resulted in possibly the most embarrassing season in the history of the franchise. This is the leadership that Fox and Pace want on their roster? Hardly.

If Briggs was still the all-pro talent he once was, Fox and Pace might consider looking the other way on his attitude in hopes that a new coaching staff might improve his demeanor, but Briggs is 34, his body is breaking down and his skills have waned.

That’s not to say Briggs can’t still make a play or show a flash of the talent he once had, but more often than not, he’s a step behind the play, he fails to shed a block, or simply just can’t read and react quickly enough to make the tackle.

Briggs’ agent has no doubt started making quiet inquiries around the league to see what kind of market there might be for the aging linebacker. My guess is he discovered that there was none. Briggs knows he’s practically out of options and his best chance would be to return to a team with a new coaching staff that may not quite realize how sour his attitude had become.

His next move is to promote himself on radio row at the Super Bowl, something he is scheduled to do later this week, and something he has never done before during his career. Briggs will turn on the charm and promote himself as the ultimate team guy and a veteran that any team would be lucky to have. It’s a move that reeks of desperation and shows that Briggs is throwing up one more hail mary to keep his career going.

Ryan Pace and John Fox have talked about breathing new life and enthusiasm into this Bears’ franchise, and if that’s the case, then holding onto a fossil like Briggs is the last thing they should do.

Bill Zimmerman is a Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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